Redacted: Murder at Willow Mansion.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!!” shouted everybody as the metal hand of the elegant Grandfather clock chimed midnight. The family hugged one another and celebrated. 1971 had been a great year for the Willow’s, and they hoped for it again. Charles, the father and man of the house was a professional lawyer: wealthy, handsome, fit and tall at over six feet, who married the cunning Anne Willow, a writer and enthusiast- full of good looks. She was of average height and in great shape. She had a bright, positive attitude which Charles loved, she respected everyone and was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Both of them were the same age at thirty-two, sported brunette hair and blue eyes. Anne’s was down to just above her elbows, while Charles had a perfect combover. They had three children: A boy in his teens, Matthew, who was both academic and sporty. At sixteen he was taking after his father, being near to six feet and good looking. He loved reading too. There was Connor, their 9-year-old son who loved trains- he would always be at the train station next to their property watching for hours at a time, never getting bored. He wore blue eyes, had short brown hair and was a little skinny. Lastly, Oscar, their 5-year-old son who enjoyed reading and being a fun nuisance every so often though was rather well behaved for his age. He had blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Now, such a large house would be a waste with such few people. Anne’s mother, Claudia, who was sixty-four, still resided in the mansion. She was a kind soul, always so caring to Anne when she was a child. She’s short, pale, has blue eyes- but is very loud when she wants to be, and sports a pair of brown glasses which she requires occasionally. Her husband, and Anne’s father Jack also lived there. A war veteran, he came near to losing his life when Anne and her sister were very young. He’s permanently in a wheelchair, and his left eye was lost long ago. A black eyepatch now covered it, one of his defining features, while his other eye was in perfect nick. This meant he always needed someone to wheel him around, and look after him- and that person was Amelia, their young but experienced Nurse who cared a lot for Jack and had an exceptional bond with him, always keeping him happy. Amelia was a beautiful twenty-three-year-old woman with big blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She would always captivate the kids like Connor. Amelia and Anne sometimes seemed to be the only people that truly cared about Jack- though Jack didn’t think so. Amelia had a 24-hour duty and often slept in the house and lived there, except on Sundays when she had some designated time off: Twelve o’ clock noon to around five or six o’ clock on Monday evening. She lived with her mother out east of the town. As well as Anne’s parents, Charles’s beloved mother and Aunt also lived there together. Aunt Vicky was very quiet though and often didn’t sit down for family meals such as dinner. Her long jet black hair, brown eyes and wrinkly skin led her looking sort of like a witch, according to the kids sometimes. She was stocky, and generally kept to herself or the other oldies, who had the third floor to themselves. Charles’s mother Thea was very social and great with the kids, often enjoying their company and vice versa. She had bushy whitening brunette hair, was quite narrow, and wore glasses most of the time. That just left Benjamin, the oldest relative of the family. At ninety-two years, he was Claudia’s father, Anne’s grandfather. He was very fit for his age and required a walking stick only some of the time. He was loved by the kids and often sat on the front veranda watching over the forest with a cigar, or at the back of the house watching over the Great Lake. Benjamin had owned the house but decided to give it to Anne & Charles now he was quite old, and they could take care of the great mansion, plus the oldies who already lived there. He was thinning a lot more now due to his age, but he was perseverant in his tasks. He wore reading glasses, and still had multiple strands of white hair protruding from his old head.

Charles had three brothers, whom he was the youngest of. The first was Gavin- single, but the very funny uncle to all his nieces and nephews, and the oldest at forty-six. He was basically bald with just a thin layer of hairs, and had a bit of a belly since he didn’t work anymore. He had brown eyes, was over six feet and sported somewhat of a thin beard too. He was unemployed, and spent his time upkeeping his black Plymouth Barracuda or looking after his brother’s kids, always residing in the Willow’s house. Then there was Stephen. At thirty-nine, he was married to Anne’s older sister, Georgia. Stephen had salt and peppery, brownish hair, green eyes and was not quite as fit as Charles but still well shaped for his age. He was also at six feet tall. Meanwhile Georgia was similar to Anne, brunette hair but lighter in shade and longer, dark blue eyes, attractive and fit at thirty-seven. They lived a few towns across but often visited, as they had three kids of their own. Their eighteen year old daughter Maddison was the eldest. She loved to watched a lot of television and movies. She wore dark hair, blue eyes, and was thin and tall as she didn’t play sports and was not very adventurous. Georgia and Stephen also had a baby named Cooper who was very cute and cuddly; about 18 months old with big blue eyes and thin brown hair. Lastly there was Melanie who was their six-year-old daughter. She had dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes, and was very playful. Because Georgia was Anne’s sister, and Stephen Charles’s brother, they were all very close and great friends, not just family. Charles’s third brother was Jeremiah. He had short brown hair, green eyes, was the shortest of the four at just under six feet. He was still in fine shape for forty, and drove a famed 1967 blue Ford Mustang. His red pair of reading glasses he used occasionally usually hung by his shirt collar. He had been married to a lovely woman named Alice, but unfortunately, she passed away a few years back in 1969, leaving him to take care of their only child, Daniel who was eleven. Daniel had thick salt and peppery hair, brown eyes and was quite lean. Their father and son relationship had its ups and downs- but remained mostly intact. Although, Jeremiah often doubted himself. Daniel was also the godson of Andrew, who was by far Jeremiah’s best mate. He was well built though a little round, and also forty. They had been friends since they were in school and he chose Andrew to be the godfather of Daniel. Andrew was a man of misfortune. He had twins in 1964- but died during birth. They would’ve been in seven. However, things only got worse when his wife Carol died under uncanny circumstances in 1969. He was left in shambles from her death, in which Jeremiah was really a big help to him.

‘Alright, alright kids I think it’s about time for bed!’ said Charles rather loudly. He had probably had too much to drink, but who cared- it was New Year’s Eve. Gavin, who was staying over per usual, tripped on the rug in the living room, and started laughing as Oscar and Connor crawled over him giggling away. Amelia wheeled Jack to his room to prepare him for bed, and Claudia followed.

‘Cmon get up Oscar, Connor’ Anne told them. They did as their mother obeyed, and she took them to brush their teeth and get into bed.

The clock read 12:30. ‘Goodnight dad!’ called out Matthew as he walked up the grand staircase in the main foyer to the second floor.

‘Night Matty’ replied Charles before a voice came from behind him.

‘Charles give me a hand dear’ asked Thea. Charles helped his mother up. ‘I need a good night’s rest’ She took herself up the stairs to her bedroom on the third floor, which was near to Vicky, who had not been down to celebrate the New Year, and was probably deep asleep. Charles turned off the lights downstairs and he and Gavin walked upstairs to go to bed, they were all smashed, and would be up again early that morning for New Year’s Day, in which Stephen and Georgia would be coming over with their family to stay for a couple of weeks.

Moonlight washed in from the large, almost floor length French windows that had a double casement that opened outwards, illuminating the hundreds of rooms and corridors. The house was three full stories, with an attic so large, it was basically a fourth floor. It had many, many bedrooms, bathrooms, a large garage capable of fitting six cars, although it was more of just a shelter than a full enclosed garage. A greenhouse sat down near the southern forest border, which was caretaken by Ebenezer, their gardener. The house sat on a hill, facing east. The brown wood and timber which it was made out of, looked black, opposed to the grand appearance it spelled during the daytime. Out the front door was a large beige gravelled parking area, the garage to the right- and then it was all hill. They’re estate was large- a grassy hill ran down eastwards and southwards from the house, with the eastern section being much steeper. At the bottom it met Freedom Forest, a dense conifer environment that went on for days. To the west was a large lake, Lake Gardeen: With sparkling water under the moon tonight, on a good day the beautiful blue expanded for miles west, and you could see the other forested side only just. To the north, their property ended abruptly, and there was a train line. Well, two actually. One came across Lake Gardeen over a low bridge, which then ran through an old disused, but intact station. This was over yonder their fence line. Call it a fence- it was mostly dilapidated, so the kids could venture over anytime, as long as they avoided the bramble. There was also an old deep aqueduct sort of pathway next to the train line, which followed it into the forest before gradually rising to ground level. It was meant to be for rail at one point- but Ben partook in ridding of that idea. It also meant a short bridge was needed at the bottom of the Willow’s driveway to cross over it, and then over the train tracks up top. Ben says it never should’ve been built, and is just dangerous having it there- anyone could fall in and be trapped, or hurt themselves. There was a narrow footbridge from the station to the other side, after the bramble ended- but the kids had to go all the way to the bottom of the driveway then back to use the route.

Now a bit about the mansion itself. It was mostly rectangular shape, with the length of it extending from the lake to the start of the hill. The sheer number of rooms was crazy, there was a large library, and then on each floor: A large kitchen, multiple living rooms, a games room, multiple dining rooms, parlour rooms and the list went on. There was a balcony on the second floor above the veranda along the front of the house, and a side terrace on the left side of the building, charting quite a large portion of the side of the house, also on the second floor. The terrace had poles holding up the third floor above it, and petite lanterns which hung on the inner walls. There were also multiple terraces up on the third floor, including the Grand terrace, which was a huge area of roof that had tables on it, a fountain, plants and a hedge that ran along the railing, making it a sought-after spot to eat and relax, and enjoy the aesthetic views. This one was not undercover, as there was no floors above. Down below, a covered path ran from the right side first floor corridor, to a covered seating area on the right side of the house- all upkept by their groundskeeper. It had a barbeque, and was an outdoor living room really. A balcony on the third floor at the back of the house faced towards the lake too with spectacular views. The corridors of the house varied in carpet colour depending on the floor, and had ornaments and décor as well as golden-plated wall sconces. The tall windows could be opened wide, and allowed rivers of sunlight in during the day. As well as three stories, it also had two basement levels. Well, one was a full basement, with multiple rooms and plenty of storage space, and it was filled with the most bizarre stuff, most of which wasn’t even the Willows. The second basement was more of a cave bunker. It was smaller, and a lot of the floor was dirt and rock, same with the walls. No one really went down there, and Charles deemed it unsafe in general. He always put his family’s safety first. The mansions décor was another work of art itself- the corridors and rooms were covered in paintings, statues, ornaments, relics and antiques. The attic had huge amounts of antiques just sitting in dust, and the library was a well decorated place. The library covered all four stories, including the attic, where there were beams across and no actual floor- something to be weary of while up there. It was just one giant room. The libraries bookshelves held thousands of books, most covered in more dust than a beach is covered with by sand. May, the maid would often find Matthew asleep with piles of books around him, as he read a lot and spent most of his non-school days in the library. The second floor had a terrace-mezzanine overlooking from the second floor corridor, while up on the third floor was a chain walkway to access the higher up parts of the enormous shelves. Not exactly safe- but necessary unless you wanted to climb a giant ladder. On the ground floor, the biggest of the grandfather clocks in the mansion stood between two shelves. Ben received it from France, just before World War One. However it is now broken, and always reads half past three. Rhinoceros, Lion and Elephant head pieces sit on the wall below the above terrace balcony, and there’s a large moose headpiece to the left. A stuffed crow perches on one of the reading tables. And hanging in the dustiest corner, the south-west part of the library is multiple pterodactyls hanging from the rafters in the attic. Charles doesn’t like people standing underneath them, in case they fall. Even higher up, dangle large replicas of planets of the solar system, around the chain walkway. A dark set of real knights armour stands tall at the southern exit to the library, with a red feather on its helm. Coming in the front door is a small antechamber room, with a double door into the main foyer area, where from that you can access the dining room, kitchen and second floor. A large front veranda expands along the front of the house. One side stops just before the corner, while the other goes around and ends in steps to the grass north of the building. The main foyer was the first room after the antechamber where shoes, hats and coats were hung up. It had a tiled white floor, with white marble stairs leading up from either side to the second floor, curving to meet up with the landing in the middle. Brown wooden banisters joined up with the marble. The staircase then came back and went straight up to the third floor landing, which was right at the front façade. There were some sandstone sculptures to fill space behind the stairs, though much more recent. The back of the house saw a large veranda wrap around from the first floor sunroom, with views into the southern part of the forest and the greenhouse. This one had no banister. Kept garden sat below the verandas, before meeting lawn.

Benjamin, who built the house himself, knew and understood his creation better than anyone else. He would often delve deep into forgotten parts of the house for hours at a time, never bored of the secrets he manufactured.